1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to vehicle axle mounting arrangements and, more particularly, is concerned with an axle pivot assembly for fastening the pivot point of the axle at a fixed location relative to the vehicle frame.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Some rear wheel driven vehicles having independent front axles mounted at inboard ends to the middle of the vehicle chassis or frame and at outboard ends to steering knucles which, in turn, are connected to the front wheels and to linkage for steering the front wheels. The inboard ends of the axles are articulately mounted to the vehicle frame by respective pivot assemblies so that the axles are capable of undergoing pivotal motion in all directions. Thus, for precision driving of the vehicle and for minimizing tire wear the kind of pivot connection between the axles and vehicle frame is very important. Ideally, the pivot connection should be one which holds the pivot point of the axle on the frame at a fixed location.
However, in the case of some vehicles, the pivot assemblies supplied as original equipment by the vehicle manufacturer employ flexible molded rubber bushings. A problem with using a flexible molded rubber bushing is that it does not hold the actual pivot point of the axle at a fixed location. During normal driving, lateral forces applied to the axles will move them either inboard or outboard depending on the direction of the force. Consequently, each axle's companion wheel is turned in a direction opposite to the direction of the movement of the axle, requiring oversteering by the operator to compensate for the axle float.
For example, when the wheels are turned to the left a force is applied to the axles moving them to the left. This movement causes the wheels to turn back to the right because they are also attached to the steering linkage, which does not float. Thus, additional control input is needed from the operator which results in oversteering to the left. Oversteering to the left then creates the need for the operator to apply a control input to the right to counteract the oversteering, starting the whole steering process over again. As a result, the operator seems to steer the vehicle in a weaving pattern down the road giving the appearance of being inebriated.
Consequently, a need exists for an axle pivot assembly which will overcome the aforementioned problems without introducing new ones in their place.